Fab Couples: Wisconsin

Ida Balderrama-Trudell & Michelle Riehn

Ida Balderrama-Trudell, director of Equity and Innovation, Overture Center for the Arts; Michelle Riehn, co-owner, Delta Beer Lab

Homebase: McFarland, close to Lake Waubesa

How did your love story begin? Ida: We met at Girl Scout camp (Camp Blackhawk) in Summer 2011. Michelle worked there, and I brought my daughter to camp with my Girl Scout co-leader and her daughter.

Michelle: Their truck broke down on the way up north to camp, and they were late for check-in and dinner. I had to rustle up some food for them.

Ida: I remember watching her from afar for those couple days as we did our activities. We had so much fun that my co-leader and I decided we definitely needed to go back to camp–it was magical.

Michelle: During pre-camp work weekend in 2013, I mentioned I had just moved to Madison and wouldn’t be returning to camp for the summer. And a new chapter of our story began.

Ida: She invited me out for drinks and dinner at Ale Asylum, and we talked for hours.

Michelle: This is where she tricked me into our first date! But not really. 10 years later, we still love adventuring to new places and visiting breweries, wineries, and distilleries across the country.

Favorite thing about one another: Ida: Michelle’s not afraid to be silly, and I always smile like a fool when she does that. It’s a good reminder.

Michelle: The love Ida puts into her cooking!

Favorite date night: Almost anywhere where we can sit at a counter or a bar, play cards and people watch.

Favorite tradition you have as a couple: Early on in our relationship, since I had younger kids, we decided to make us a priority with a standing date night. So every Friday, we go on a date. We never make any other plans on that night unless we check in with one another. Everyone in our lives knows that’s what we do. Often we end up at Waypoint Public House in Monona.

What does your happily ever after look like? To continue to travel and discover new places; go camping and hiking, relax on a beach, listen to music and try all the flavors of everything everywhere. As the children are older now (junior in college and sophomore in high school), we are starting to think about what it looks like to be empty nesters, yet with a zoo in the house – two cats and a dog that thinks he’s a cat, and planning how we continue to live with lots of laughter, adventures and love.

One Comment

  1. I adore these two amazing people!!